Chapter 161

"Long Junzuo!"

Ye Hua said through gritted teeth.

Pei Xingjian patted Ye Hua on the shoulder: "Break the clouds, quell anger."

"The most important thing now is to hold Dragon Gate Pass and defeat the enemy."

Ye Hua nodded, took a deep breath, and struggled to calm his emotions.

He knew Pei Xingjian was right; the most important thing now was to defeat the enemy and hold the pass.

Other matters could wait until after the battle was over.

"Fire arrows!"

At Pei Xingjian's command, the archers on the wall immediately drew their bows to the full moon, and the swish-swish-swish arrows shot toward the enemy like raindrops.

However, the enemy's numbers were simply too great; although the arrows were dense, they only managed to slow the enemy down a little.

And Long Junzuo, who had just arrived at the foot of Dragon Gate Pass, didn't waste any words.

He simply waved his hand to signal the army to launch the attack.

Instantly, tens of thousands of troops surged toward Dragon Gate Pass like a tide, and the shouts of battle shook the heavens.

They began to scale the wall, hoping to breach the city.

However, the defenders of Dragon Gate Pass were not to be taken lightly.

They fought back bravely, repelling wave after wave of assault with swords and arrows.

The battle unfolded with extraordinary ferocity and brutality.

Both sides paid a heavy price, yet none showed any intention of giving up.

They knew this was a life-and-death struggle, and only victory would allow them to survive.

Ye Hua and Pei Xingjian also went into the fray themselves to slay the enemy.

Leading from the front, they brandished their swords and clashed with the enemy.

Rolling logs and stones, along with arrows, poured down like rain, leaving the enemy with broken heads and blood, crying for their fathers and mothers.

The enemy's attacks were repulsed time and again, while the defenses of Dragon Gate Pass grew ever stronger.

The battle raged for a full day and night, and both sides suffered grievous losses.

Yet Dragon Gate Pass stood firm, like a towering mountain blocking the enemy's advance.

The next day.

Outside the city, Long Junzuo's 70,000 Wen Province troops, tens of thousands of Que Wang troops, and the Dao Soldiers of the Great Yong Que Bird Army had already taken formation.

Banners fluttered, warhorses neighed, and a solemn killing intent permeated the air.

Long Junzuo wore armor and held a spear; his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, fixed on Dragon Gate Pass ahead.

With a thunderous war drumbeat, Long Junzuo brandished his spear and bellowed, "Storm the city!"

Instantly, tens of thousands of troops surged toward Dragon Gate Pass like a tide.

Battle cries shook the heavens, arrows fell like rain, and the wall was instantly engulfed in a sea of fire.

Pei Xingjian and Ye Hua had long prepared for a protracted battle.

They commanded over ten thousand Nine Heavens Army troops to resist bravely; archers, stone-throwers, and sword-and-shield soldiers each performed their duties, coordinating closely to repel the Que Wang army's assaults time and again.

However, the enemy's numbers were simply too great, and their attacks grew ever fiercer, causing the defenders on the wall to feel increasing pressure.

As time passed, the battle entered a white-hot stage.

Both sides fought with all their might in attack and defense; soldiers kept falling on the wall, but were immediately replaced by fresh troops.

Shouts of battle, cries, and war drums intertwined, forming a tragic war song.

Pei Xingjian and Ye Hua remained steadfast on the wall, their figures becoming a banner in the hearts of the soldiers.

Whenever a soldier grew exhausted, seeing them still fighting would renew his spirit and send him back into the fray.

Long Junzuo also deeply understood the difficulty of this battle.

He continually adjusted his tactics, seeking a breakthrough, but each time Pei Xingjian and Ye Hua cleverly defused it.

This made him feel somewhat surprised, according to the intelligence he had gathered.

At present, the few defenders on Dragon Gate Pass were all obscure newcomers.

And yet they were surprisingly tough to deal with?

Yet at the same time, it only strengthened Long Junzuo's resolve to capture Dragon Gate Pass.

As night fell, the war drums outside Dragon Gate Pass rumbled, and the thunderous battle cries mingled with the clashing of metal, weaving a solemn atmosphere.

Long Junzuo wore dragon-scale armor, standing ahead of the Wen Province and Que Wang troops; his eyes were as deep as a pool, fixed unwaveringly on the steadfast Dragon Gate Pass ahead.

Days of siege had etched a trace of weariness and ruthlessness onto his face.

Seeing that tens of thousands of troops had failed to take the position after prolonged assault, Long Junzuo knew that continuing like this would severely damage morale.

He drew a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and already had made his decision in his heart.

Turning, he nodded to the commander of the Dao Soldiers of the Great Yong Que Bird Army behind him and gave a few low-voiced orders.

That officer's eyes flashed with a glint of sharpness, and he immediately bowed and departed to carry out the command.

Long Junzuo turned once more to face Dragon Gate Pass, slowly raising his hands as his entire body surged with gang energy.

As he moved, the surrounding air began to tremble, and a tremendous aura rose from his body.

His figure gradually blurred, replaced by a towering ten-zhang-high Que Bird Dharma Aspect.

The Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect was covered head to toe in dense scales and feathers, its eyes like torches, emitting a chilling light that seized heart and soul.

At the same time, the Dao Soldiers of the Great Yong Dragon Sparrow Army also began to move.

They swiftly shifted formation, following the pre‑drilled military formation, encircling Dragon Lord Zuo's Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect in the center.

As the Great Yong Dragon Sparrow Army's military formation was activated, streams of mysterious power surged from the Dao Soldiers' bodies, gathering into the Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect.

This made the aura of Long Junzuo's Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect on him grow ever stronger, as if it wanted to break through the heavens.

Under the combined effect of Long Junzuo's Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect and the Great Yong Dragon Sparrow Army's military great formation, the defensive force on the walls of Dragon Gate Pass instantly felt an unprecedented pressure.

The originally sturdy walls began to tremble slightly, as if they could collapse at any moment.

The faces of the Nine Heavens Army soldiers on the walls changed dramatically; they gripped their weapons tightly and exerted all their strength to resist this terrifying force.

However, before this force, their resistance seemed so insignificant.

Boom!

The Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect, carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth, repeatedly struck the walls.

Each impact caused bricks and stones on the walls to fly, making the defending soldiers tremble with fear.

Pei Xingjian and Ye Hua stood on the walls, their faces also unusually solemn.

They knew this was Long Junzuo's final all-out effort.

As long as they blocked this final strike, Dragon Gate Pass could catch its breath.

Moreover

Pei Xingjian glanced at Ye Hua beside him.

Even if Long Junzuo knew the Jade Qilin Army had already arrived at Dragon Gate Pass,

but he absolutely could not have imagined that there was also a War God who had cultivated the Jade Qilin Dharma Aspect present on Dragon Gate Pass.

Therefore, his assessment of the Jade Qilin Army's combat strength was absolutely wrong.

When Long Junzuo revealed a flaw,

Even if Ye Hua leading the Jade Qilin Army gave Long Junzuo the opportunity to inflict heavy damage 1

As the walls were about to collapse, Pei Xingjian suddenly shouted loudly: "Form ranks!"

Pei Xingjian had studied beside Wen Zhong for many years.

He did not know the Dao Soldiers great formation.

But he still knew quite a few ordinary military formations.

With a flash of Pei Xingjian's figure, he rushed to the edge of the wall.

The Nine Heavens Army soldiers closely followed, quickly changing formation.

They waved their weapons in a wonderful rhythm, merging their own strength with the wall into one.

At that moment, the Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect again struck the wall with the force of thunder.

However, this time it did not have the same unstoppable momentum as before.

On the wall, the Nine Heavens Army's formation seemed to form an impregnable barrier, blocking all of the Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect's power.

The collision between the Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect and the Nine Heavens Army's formation lasted a full quarter of an hour.

During this period, the forces of both sides continually intertwined, collided, and wore down.

Finally, in a deafening roar, the power of the Nine Heavens Army's formation was completely dissolved by the Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect.

However, as the Nine Heavens Army's formation dispersed,

the Dragon Sparrow Dharma Aspect's power also revealed a slight weakness.

(End of chapter)